Jacob Ogles
Pocketbook issues like inflation could determine which party Florida voters in Florida support in November. That should be good for Republicans, whom voters generally trust more on economic issues. But on the critical issue of insurance costs, voters remain displeased with political officials across the board.
That’s according to a new poll released by the Associated Industries of Florida (AIF), whose Center for Political Strategy. While the organization plans to release full crosstabs on the poll at its ongoing Summer political retreat, pollsters shared that voters prefer generic Republican candidates over generic Democrats by a 47% to 43% advantage. Pollsters report a margin of error of 3.4 percentage points.
Importantly, Florida independent voters say they prefer Democrats over Republicans by a 43% to 36% advantage. But Republicans hold an edge on voter registrations in the state.
While a full 10% of voters said they were still undecided about which party they favor ahead of the 2024 General Election, they signaled that financial issues were of key concern.
“The average Floridian is really feeling the effects of the insurance crisis and higher prices,” said AIF Vice President of Political Operations Jeremy Sheftel. “With hurricane season officially underway, it will be worth monitoring to see how voters will respond as the season progresses.”
AIF pollsters surveyed voters on which political party best handles a number of issues of importance to voters. The GOP performs better on the economy overall, with 44% of voters saying they trust Republicans in that arena, compared to 23% who prefer Democrats.
On inflation, 35% favor a Republican approach compared to 25% who favor Democrats. On education, Republicans hold a smaller edge, with 38% supporting GOP policies and 31% favoring Democratic ones. The same goes for protecting personal freedoms, where 45% think Republicans do a better job while 37% see Democrats as the better safeguards of rights.
The strong polling for Republicans involved crime, where 46% of voters preferred Republicans to best tackle the matter, and just 16% trust Democrats.
But on one key issue in Florida, insurance rates, voters remain unhappy with all officials. A plurality, 44%, believe neither party has done an effective job lowering costs. And that’s the top issue for most voters in the state.
The AIF Center for Political Strategy has tracked political trends and voter sentiment regularly. This poll was released as part of regular quarterly survey results. This poll surveyed 800 voters between May 28 and 30, via landline and digital.
